Hi-Lo (mercantile)

Message
Author
User avatar
Urson
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 8047
Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2015 4:23 pm

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#401 Post by Urson »

Daisy

Don't worry about what they found, Sugar. We know you din't have anything to do with the stuff.

Daisy smiles at the woman- slightly less broadly than usual.

(To Nalissa) When my Grampy Trencherman died, I wasn't good fer much of anything for a while. Maybe ya'll ought to think about closing the mercantile for a few days to let yourself recover just a bit.

She steps over to Liam and whispers something to him.
FA FO
User avatar
OGRE MAGE
First Gentleman
First Gentleman
Posts: 39189
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:16 pm
Location: The Birthplace of RPG's

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#402 Post by OGRE MAGE »

Nallissa nods her head at Daisy’s advice to shut the store down for a few days. “That’s a good idea. You know......I just might do that.”

She follows Daisy back into the room once called by Andron.

“Well? You’ve found his magic robe and jug. Are you going to think any less of the man now?”

Once she sees that the focus is not on the magic items but the pair of locked vessels, she continues.

“Oh my, I nearly forgot those were in there. Where is my brain today? That one is where we keep the surplus coin for the store.” She points to the silver coffer that Dexter verifies by shaking the box slightly and hearing the jingling of the coins inside.

”And that one has a few gems of varying value that we keep around to cover larger purchases or to use when someone wants to consolidate there coin. We don’t need them much around here obviously, but every merchant has to keep a few on hand. Mr. Nehru has........”, more tears, had the keys for those as well, unfortunately.”
User avatar
Bluehorse
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 8123
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 4:23 pm
Location: Fort Smith, AR

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#403 Post by Bluehorse »

Liam

Looks to Daisy and puts his fingertip to the tip of his nose to indicate his agreement. Looking at the cabinet he sighs. Looks like we will have to get some heavier tools to investigate the hard boxes. And likely need someone trustworthy to stand guard over them once their open.
If they were this secured there must be something of a great deal of importance here, magical or not.
User avatar
Quonundrum
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 3923
Joined: Sat Jul 27, 2019 11:57 pm

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#404 Post by Quonundrum »

Andronichishche raises his eyebrows when Nallissa mentions the robe and jug as if their purpose should be obvious upon casual examination. He allows her to finish explaining the contents of the coffer and strongbox before voicing his confusion. "I agree with Mr. Liam that their construction, of the strongbox at least, suggests storage of something other than a few gemstones. In any event, Lady Nallissa will require the contents of both to continue operation of the Hi-Lo, and as we don't have the keys we should allow Mr.Broadleaf to continue his work." Andron quickly scans the room as if looking for something in particular. "The security of the boxes is a valid concern ... with the absence of the cabinet lock more so ... the boxes are easily carried." Apparently not finding what he was looking for, he turns to address Glansandi. "Constable, I trust in your expertise in this area, any suggestions for safely storing the valuables?"

Andronichishche takes a sleeve of the robe hanging in the cabinet, absently examining the fabric. Rubbing his chin he glances up at Nallissa, "To be quite honest lady Nallissa, my opinion of Mr. Nehru hasn't changed. Aside from the robe and jug's magical auras I haven't a clue as to their properties. Would you know anything about them, why Mr. Nehru acquired them, and from whom?"

Andron starts with a raised finger as if suddenly remembering a key detail. "Ah, the coat! It's also curious as to why Mr. Nehru would leave on a expedition without his coat?"
User avatar
OGRE MAGE
First Gentleman
First Gentleman
Posts: 39189
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:16 pm
Location: The Birthplace of RPG's

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#406 Post by OGRE MAGE »

Nallissa looks confused by Liam's remark when Glansandi steps in. He nods for Dexter to continue his attempts on the locks, though he doubts the halfling will be able to pop three locks in a row.

The stern elf clears his throat loudly. "If these items are the property of the Hi-Lo, then we have no business with them at all. But it would be nice if we could get them open for the poor girl, at least, since the keys all seem to be missing now." He moves to investigate the robe as Nalissa meets him at the cabinet.

She takes out the fine leather coat and holds it up for everyone to see."This is what he wore here......on the ship. He looked so regal and important. But once we got here, he quickly realized that he wouldn't need to wear a coat around here much, you know, because it is so stupid hot and all." She returns the fine garment back to its hanger and pulls out the robe next.

Slipping on the plain looking garment as if she had done it 20 times before, she looks up at those gathered with a slight hint of embarrassment on her chubby face. Then she retrieves the jug from the bottom of the cabinet next, setting it on top of the beautifully carved desk.

"Mr. Nehru was an affluent merchant back on the mainland, a guy who knew what people wanted and knew how to.......lets just say......acquire things. These two items were his prized possessions, and it took him some time to finally purchase them, believe me. But once he did, he knew it would help his business tremendously. Wouldn't it be nice if you were always the guy around town that a person could go to for something that nobody else had on hand?"

The woman opens up one side of the robe and looks inside carefully before pulling out a small black cloth patch from the inner lining. She lays the flat, 2 dimensional, padlock shaped patch on the desk and smiles as the cloth fragment magically changes into a real, solid, iron padlock complete with a shiny new key sticking out of the lock.

"Have you ever seen anything like it before? The jug has a similar function. Just remark out loud what you want it to pour, and there it is. Pretty cool, eh?" She tries to hide her discomfort at showing off the items with a weak smile, especially knowing full well what Nehru was charging for items he was selling out of his store.

"Well, are you going to go around and tell everybody my little secret now? At least I can lock the cabinet again," she remarks absently.
User avatar
SirOwen
Ranger Lord
Ranger Lord
Posts: 3419
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 12:58 am

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#407 Post by SirOwen »

Dexter Broadleaf

Accepting the item from the Constable, Dexter checks the lock box out, frowning at the three sophisticated lock on the front. He looks up and grins. "Never know until you try....." he says as he once again takes out his lock picks to go after the box.

Lock Box Lock #1 (45% chance) [1d100] = 60
Lock Box Lock #2 (45% chance) [1d100] = 2
Lock Box Lock #3 (45% chance) [1d100] = 46

EDIT: Apparently, I rolled that third roll as an On The Fly roll instead of attributing it to Dexter. Sorry

Half an hour later, the halfling, drenched in sweat, mutters, "I wonder if I have enough money to get back home...." He does NOT throw his lock picks, but just places them back into his pouch. "Looks like I'll be breaking into these two boxes. I'm sorry, Miss Nallissa. I was only able to open one of the three locks."

Shaking off the sense of frustration at his failures, he says, "At least we know that the boxes do not contain anything fragile. I should be able to peel the locks open in about an hour, and not damage either box. As I said earlier though, the locks will be ruined."
"There is no spoon."
User avatar
Bluehorse
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 8123
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 4:23 pm
Location: Fort Smith, AR

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#408 Post by Bluehorse »

Liam

Oops! I misunderstood earlier and thought the jug has the gray goo mentioned before.

The man looks more shocked at the revelations of what the coat and Jug were used for. So... all this time... he had the means to help people, directly... and he chose to profit from their hardship instead? I understand a base charge for services, especially if the coat or jug have limited uses... but... with all respect to the dearly departed, this seems... Excessively capitalist..... he struggled for the words to form his thoughts on the topic. Still, I suppose it is good to know there is nothing dangerous here... And it appears you have a means of providing new locks so I feel no hesitation in peeling the locks as Mr. Dexter says he can do. I agree we should keep this secret for now, there may well be a riot on this office if word about these items gets out. Constable, Captain, I think we have done all we can pending Master Broadlief's completion of his task. I believe out next step is the meeting where we try to establish some order before letting out... at least officially... the news of what is happened.

Liam takes a breath to steady his thoughts. And I just wanted to be a farmer and brew mead... What a mess...

Gentlemen? Your thoughts?
User avatar
OGRE MAGE
First Gentleman
First Gentleman
Posts: 39189
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:16 pm
Location: The Birthplace of RPG's

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#409 Post by OGRE MAGE »

Nalissa looks at Liam before the others respond.

“Both items have limited uses. Very limited now. Mr. Nehru wasn’t robbing these people. It really does cost a fortune to ship items all this way, and the captain can verify that, I’m sure.”

“He only used these items when he didn’t have something important on hand that someone really needed. Kind of like an emergency situation only type of thing. But he never told anyone about them, and still charged full price for items that he got magically. But ya know, I used to feel badly about that, kinda dishonest or something. Now I see it a little differently though.”


Just to clear the lock issue up, the locks on the pair of safe boxes are built in, not padlocks. So, if the locks are broken open, it will render the box useless. Just an FYI.
User avatar
SirOwen
Ranger Lord
Ranger Lord
Posts: 3419
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 12:58 am

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#410 Post by SirOwen »

Dexter Broadleaf

The Halfling looks up at Nallissa. "Miss Nallissa, I'm going to leave this up to you. You already know whats in these boxes. As you said, coins in one and gems in the other. If you don't have to get the money out of them now, perhaps you could just use the money you have on hand? In the meantime, I can study up on these boxes and try to open them again later. The locksmith I apprenticed under said that NO lock is unpick-able, but some locks you have to pick later. They are nice boxes. Seems a shame to break them. And after I have them open and can study the tumblers, I might be able to fashion you some new keys."

OG, I'm not looking at the PHB at the moment, but Dexter can have another go at these locks next level, correct?
"There is no spoon."
User avatar
Quonundrum
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 3923
Joined: Sat Jul 27, 2019 11:57 pm

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#411 Post by Quonundrum »

Andronichishche smiles sympathetically at Nallissa. "My dear lady, you should feel no embarrassment with these objects. As you said yourself, their acquirement was not inexpensive and used only when an item was unavailable." He sighs and rests his hands on either side of his waist. "I agree with Mr. Liam that even the news of the existence of such artifacts would likely cause a riot in this poor town, and I believe we are in consensus that they should remain a secret for this reason. However Mr. Nehru chose to utilize them is irrelevant now. Lady Nallissa is now free to choose for herself how much to charge for their use ... and I think they're in very good hands."

Andron gestures to the coffer and strongbox Dexter had been working on. "As for the contents of the boxes, we do know what they should contain, but there may be another clue contained therein as to why Mr. Nehru embarked on his diplomatic mission to the necromancer, Gorman. They are however the property of the Hi-Lo as the Constable already mentioned, so I agree with Mr. Broadleaf that the decision about their disposition should lie with her."

Andronichishche begins to pace the small office, one hand rubbing his chin in thought. "I also concur with Mr. Liam on convening a town meeting. As I expect my involvement would raise more questions than we have answers, I can either remain here and assist Mr. Broadleaf or await news on the result of the meeting. I would suggest leaving the issue of Captain Bing's ... escape ... off the agenda, though. We still have very little information about how this was effected and where ... he ... may be now. I still believe that Mr. Nehru's demise is in some way linked to Captain Bing, as both experienced their respective woes but two days ago."
User avatar
Bluehorse
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 8123
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 4:23 pm
Location: Fort Smith, AR

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#412 Post by Bluehorse »

Liam

He nods, listening to Mr. Broadlief and Andron. I agree on both counts. My vote is for Masters Broadlief and Andron to remain here for now to assist Mistress Nelissa. Miss Daisy? I'm not sure where you would chose to go, but I am sure you could assist in watching after Nelissa as well, if you would like. he taps his nose as if in thought then heaves a sigh before looking to the Captain and the Constable. I believe Master Andron is right about this Bing issue, but that said, what are your thoughts Gentlemen? I believe we should decide now before going to the meeting. I am sure Marge and Caleb have gathered by now, and I believe we should be agreed on when to tell whom when we get there.
All this is going to spread like wildfire... if it hasn't already...
he said ruefully
User avatar
OGRE MAGE
First Gentleman
First Gentleman
Posts: 39189
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:16 pm
Location: The Birthplace of RPG's

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#413 Post by OGRE MAGE »

Nallissa smiles for the first time after more kind words from Andronichishche.

"It has been pretty quiet around her with everyone out in the jungle looking for evil priests and dwarves. I don't need the boxes open right away, but it would be nice if I could get inside of them eventually. And some new keys would be even better. Thank you for helping me with this. I don't know if I could have handled this all on my own."

The woman puts all of the items back into the cabinet and locks them in with her shiny new padlock, dropping the key into her pocket.

"I would be happy to have you try again, Dexter. I would even offer a reward of some kind if you know someone else who might be able to help. We had a nice young hobbit around here a while back. Cute too. I wonder what ever happened to little Arte. I liked him. I don't suppose you have met him out there? Lightfinger was the name he went by."

Glansandi seems to agree with the suggestions made so far.

"We should tell the people the truth, as I am sure that rumors are already spreading. How much truth we tell them will be up to us. It is obvious that they should know about the passing of their leader, but maybe we keep all this talk of Bing to ourselves until we can gather more information?"

Quark nods his head in agreement, still looking over the shipping ledgers as he does so.

Yes, I believe that a pesky lock can be tried again once the thief gains another level, but I will go back and double check that to be sure.
User avatar
SirOwen
Ranger Lord
Ranger Lord
Posts: 3419
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 12:58 am

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#414 Post by SirOwen »

Dexter Broadleaf

"Well, Miss Nallissa," Dexter says. "I'm afraid I'm 'fresh off the boat' as it were. I came here just today, so I don't know anyone except these few fine gentlemen, yourself, and Miss Daisy." He smiles and continues. "And, of course I'll have another go at those locks once I get a chance to study up on them."
"There is no spoon."
User avatar
Urson
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 8047
Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2015 4:23 pm

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#415 Post by Urson »

Daisy
Ah'd like to be at that meeting, ya'll. If Miss Nalissa can spare me, of course.
FA FO
User avatar
Bluehorse
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 8123
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 4:23 pm
Location: Fort Smith, AR

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#416 Post by Bluehorse »

Liam

He nods. Well, gentlemen... and ladies... I believe we are all agreed then. I see no reason to prolong this. Rip off the old bandage as they say... Those of us leaving, lets seek out Marge and Caleb. Honestly, I am interested to see who they rounded up.
I asked for Marge to find Caleb and perhaps round up heads of families and other bands of workers so we could have at least some sense of leadership gathering firest and let them go with what we told them. It was all I could think of at the time.

Nelissa... Master Broadleaf. Thank you for your help and good luck. We will let you know what happened.
Liam looks ready to head out.
User avatar
OGRE MAGE
First Gentleman
First Gentleman
Posts: 39189
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:16 pm
Location: The Birthplace of RPG's

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#417 Post by OGRE MAGE »

Nallissa thanks Daisy again for making her feel better. "I think I am ok for now hun, but please come on back anytime you need something or just want to talk about things."

Captain Quark finally sets down the ledgers and pulls out some paperwork of his own that still needs addressing."Lady Nallissa, if you don't mind, now might be a good time for us to discuss the basics of shipping needs and costs. If you want to learn how to do all of this, we will need to do it soon, as I still plan on sailing back to the mainland later today."

Glansandi looks to Andron to see if he has anything else to add before the group heads out to address the town with their bad news.

Anyone who is done here can pick the action back up in the Beachtown thread.
viewtopic.php?f=446&t=6347&p=434451#p434451
User avatar
SirOwen
Ranger Lord
Ranger Lord
Posts: 3419
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 12:58 am

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#419 Post by SirOwen »

Dexter Broadleaf

Since Nallissa and Quark need to discuss business, Dexter will take his leave to the meeting.
"There is no spoon."
User avatar
Quonundrum
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 3923
Joined: Sat Jul 27, 2019 11:57 pm

Re: Hi-Lo (mercantile)

#420 Post by Quonundrum »

OGRE MAGE wrote:Glansandi looks to Andron to see if he has anything else to add before the group heads out to address the town with their bad news.
Andronichishche dismisses Glansandi's querying look with a wave of his hand. "I believe we've learned all that we can from here. However, I would like to discuss with you, and Mr. Liam, about the pits beyond the beach with the grey substance. After the meeting, of course. You can call upon me at my cabin."

After the others leave, Andron motions for Dexter to wait for a moment. Turning to address Nallissa, "Mr. Broadleaf is new in town and I have offered to share my cabin with him. I wanted to check with you as to any additional occupancy fees that may apply?" To Dexter, "No need to reimburse me for your part of the month I have rented. I insist on it as my gratitude for assisting in the investigation, and for helping lady Nallissa."
Post Reply

Return to “Completed Missions”